SECRETARY CARTER, SECRETARY KERRY ANNOUNCE MORE MONEY TO STRENGTHEN U.S. AFGHAN PARTNERSHIP

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

Right:  Defense Secretary Ash Carter speaks during a joint news conference at Camp David, Md., with Secretary of State John F. Kerry, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, March 23, 2015. DoD photo by Air Force Master Sgt, Adrian Cadiz.  

Carter, Kerry Announce New Afghan Initiatives at Camp David
By Cheryl Pellerin
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, March 23, 2015 – Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Secretary of State John Kerry announced new funding and initiatives to strengthen a renewed U.S.-Afghanistan partnership after meeting today with Afghan leaders at the Camp David presidential retreat.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah participated in a series of meetings with President Barack Obama’s national security team to discuss developments in NATO's train, advise and assist mission, counterterrorism, and Afghanistan's long-term security objectives.

Joining Carter and Kerry at the formally named Naval Support Facility Thurmont in Maryland’s Catoctin Mountain Park were Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, CIA Director John E. Brennan, Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper and others.

“As many of you know, I saw President Ghani and Dr. Abdullah in Kabul last month, where I was also able to thank the nearly 10,000 American troops still serving there and to assess the changed circumstances on the ground,” Carter said during a news conference after the Camp David meetings.
Progress and Challenges

Today the leaders continued the discussion on progress made and challenges facing Afghan forces as they prepare for the coming fighting season and beyond, Carter said.

“Being here with Secretary Kerry and Secretary Lew puts Afghanistan's security challenges in the broader context of its political and economic development,” Carter noted, adding that Ghani himself says the U.S.-Afghan relationship is defined by the partnership’s comprehensive nature, not by numbers of troops.

Carter said that Obama has been clear that while U.S. and coalition troops have transitioned to a new mission in Afghanistan, “the United States maintains an unwavering commitment to a strong and enduring strategic partnership with Afghanistan.”

Ghani and Abdullah will meet with Obama tomorrow at the White House.
As what he called one part of the U.S. commitment to Afghanistan, Carter announced that the Defense Department will seek funding for Afghan forces to sustain an end strength of 352,000 through 2017.

Ensuring Lasting Security Gains

“Afghan and coalition military commanders have jointly recommended this force size, at least through 2017, to ensure that the security gains we've made together are lasting,” the secretary added.

After a three-year interruption, the U.S.-Afghanistan Security Consultative Forum will be reinstated, Carter said, led by DoD along with the Afghan ministries of defense and interior.

In Kerry’s remarks at the news conference, he said the U.S. and Afghan delegations held three separate sessions on security; issues of reconciliation and regional cooperation; and economic matters.

“The depth of our discussions today reflects the critical nature of this moment,” he said, “with Afghanistan's government of national unity now fully responsible for the security of its people, and moving ahead on a reform agenda of its own design.”

A New Development Partnership

Kerry also announced a new initiative -- a plan to create a new development partnership aligned with the unity government's reform agenda.

“This initiative reflects the strategic importance of the U.S.-Afghan relationship, and it recognizes a new era of cooperation between our governments,” he said.

The partnership, Kerry added, will promote Afghan self-reliance by using up to $800 million in U.S. aid to encourage and measure Afghan-led reform and development activities and strengthen Afghan institutions' sustainability and fiscal transparency.

Also in the discussion, Kerry said, the leaders committed to forming an energy working group that will focus on synergies of the regional energy market.

Ghani, in his remarks, welcomed the energy initiative, which he described as “the difference between the Afghanistan of today and the Afghanistan of the future.”

The Afghanistan of the Future

The initiative, he said, will turn Afghanistan into a hub where energy from Central Asia, and increasingly generated from Afghanistan, will flow into south Asia.

“It would make the dream of Asian integration a reality,” Ghani said, “and I look very much forward to working with you.”

The Afghan president also expressed appreciation for Carter’s announcement that DoD will seek funding to bolster Afghan forces through 2017.

“This is a major statement of support,” Ghani said. “Our armed forces and security forces are going to greet this with enormous welcome, because it gives them the assurance that the Resolute Support mission is continuing and that we are able to focus on our key priorities.”

Enduring Partners

Ghani said that he, Abdullah and their colleagues were privileged to engage in discussions at Camp David that characterized discussions among enduring partners.

He also told a story about a 1956 Afghanistan visit by former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who named Camp David after his grandson.

“I was 10 years old when President Eisenhower visited Afghanistan,” he said.

All the schoolchildren lined up to greet the president of the United States, he recalled, and what impressed them most was that Eisenhower chose to ride in an open car. None of the other heads of state who visited Afghanistan would show their faces to the public or stand in open cars, the Afghan president noted.

“That openness is what has characterized the American attitude to life, to politics and to engagement,” Ghani said.

An Enduring Phenomenon

The Afghan government of national unity is an enduring phenomenon, he added, and a key characteristic is its honesty in dealing with its inherited balance sheet.

“We have had accomplishments but we also have inherited corruption, impunity regarding rule of law, gender disparities, disparities between rich and poor, and enduring poverty,” he said, adding that 36 percent of the Afghan population lives under the poverty line.

“Our determination is to make sure that our people live not just in peace but with dignity and prosperity,” Ghani said.

“So I welcome the new developmental framework,” he added, “because this is a framework that will incentivize the Afghan public and the Afghan government to put our house in order.”

SECRETARY CARTER RECOGNIZES U.S. SERVICE MEMBERS FOR SERVICE

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

Right:  U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter shares a light moment with the crowd as he speaks in the Pentagon center courtyard while hosting Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Dr. Abdullah Abdullah for a visit, March 23, 2015. Carter and Ghani both delivered remarks, thanking service members and veterans who served in Afghanistan for their efforts and sacrifices. DoD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Sean Hurt

Carter Recognizes Troops, Families’ Afghan Service, Sacrifice
By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, March 23, 2015 – Defense Secretary Ash Carter recognized several U.S. service members today for their service in Afghanistan and their families for their sacrifices as he hosted the Afghan president and chief executive here.

During a Pentagon center courtyard ceremony, Carter, alongside Secretary of State John F. Kerry, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, paid tribute to U.S. troops, their families, civilians, and thousands of contractors who have served in Afghanistan.

Navy Lt. Cmdr. Lonn Larson

“In 1999,” Carter said, “after almost a decade in uniform, Navy Lieutenant Commander Lonn Larson retired as a Navy flight officer, and launched a successful private-sector career.

“But he felt like his service to his country wasn’t complete,” the secretary continued, “so more than a decade after leaving active duty he decided to return to the Navy as a reservist.”

Last May, Carter said, Larson was called up for duty, and now has been serving in eastern Afghanistan for nine months.

The defense secretary said while Larson is away, his wife of 20 years, Mary Ann, has left her job to spend more time with the couple’s 9-year-old daughter, Reese.
“Mary Ann and Reese have sent a care package every single week, and they can’t wait for him to come home in about a month,” Carter said of Larson’s family, who attended the ceremony.

“But for all the hardship of having her husband away,” he said, “Mary Ann says that Lieutenant Commander Larson’s deployment has become an opportunity to teach Reese how blessed and lucky we are as Americans, to explain what would happen if no one answered the call to service, and to talk about the kind of future we want all Afghans to have, especially young girls Reese’s age.”

Army Capt. Jeremy Haynes

Carter said a month after Larson deployed to Afghanistan, Army Cpt. Jeremy Haynes, a “promising young soldier,” was also in that country, in his fourth month as aide-de-camp to Army Maj. Gen. Harold J. Greene, who was then the commanding general of the U.S. Combined Security Transition Command.
“As many of you know,” he said, “General Greene was tragically killed on August 5, 2014, in Afghanistan, leaving behind his wife and their two children.
“Captain Haynes was with General Greene the day they came under fire,” Carter continued, “and suffered multiple, life-threatening wounds -- wounds that left him unconscious and paralyzed below the waist.”

Haynes’ prognosis was so dire, Carter said, that his wife, Chelsea, was told to be ready to fly to Germany as he underwent multiple operations.
‘A Motivation and a Torch’

“But through grace and grit,” Carter said, “Captain Haynes regained consciousness after he arrived at Walter Reed [National Military Medical Center] about a week later.

“And despite the odds,” he continued, “a day before New Year’s Eve, his family celebrated, because five months after he was wounded, Captain Haynes took his first steps again.”

And just one month later, Carter noted, Haynes and Chelsea celebrated the birth of their third child, Jordon Harold Haynes, named after General Greene.

“Captain Haynes is now resolved to pass the Army’s physical fitness test -- not just for himself,” Carter said, “but also, as he says, to ‘be a rock, a motivation and a torch’ for all the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines that he’s met -- and no doubt inspired -- up at Walter Reed, where I first met them.”

Carter said it was an honor to welcome Haynes, his wife Chelsea, and his son Jordon, as well as Jordon’s godmother, retired Army Col. Susan Myers, the widow of Greene’s widow.

Recognizing Similar Stories

The defense secretary noted that the stories of the Larson, Haynes and Greene families represent “millions” of stories like theirs -- stories of duty, honor, sacrifice, and sometimes of grief and tragedy.

“Over 850,000 American troops and civilians, and thousands more contractors,” Carter said, “have served and sacrificed in Afghanistan since 2001, and so have their families alongside them.”

He added, “We remember the 2,215 Americans who paid the ultimate price during the course of the conflict in Afghanistan, and their spouses, parents, sons and daughters.”

“We remember that they gave their lives defending our nation’s security,” Carter said. “And in this courtyard, we are also reminded why they went to Afghanistan in the first place.”

One reminder stands just beyond the Pentagon’s walls, he noted -- a memorial honoring all those who perished when the building was attacked on that “bright, fateful day" in 2001.

Reflecting on Afghan Service

Navy Reserve Force Master Chief Petty Officer C.J. Mitchell, who attended the Pentagon ceremony, spoke about his experiences serving in the Gulf and his support to troops in Afghanistan.

“I’m very proud of my service on USS Farragut, DDG-99, as a part of the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group, deployed to the Gulf supporting missions to Afghanistan in 2010,” he said.

“I had the privilege of visiting sailors in Afghanistan, Thanksgiving 2013,” Mitchell said. “I’m very proud of those sailors and the mission that they were accomplishing at the time.”

Mitchell noted Ghani’s thanks to U.S. service members confirmed the troops’ commitment to helping the people of Afghanistan.

“It’s a validation that sailors, Marines, soldiers and airmen are making a difference in Afghanistan,” he said, “and that it’s appreciated and recognized -- not just by the government -- but by the citizens there.”

Mitchell added, “As Secretary Carter mentioned, service members like Commander Larson, serving in Afghanistan, are making an enduring difference [there].”

Mitchell said as force master chief of the Naval Reserve, he’s “very proud” of the determination and drive of Navy Reserve sailors like Larson who have served in Afghanistan.

“I think the future of Afghanistan will be an enduring peace,” he said.
With U.S. partnership and the commitment of Afghan citizens and security forces, their future is bright, Mitchell said.

U.S. VOTES NO ON PROPOSED CHANGE TO AUTHORITY OF UN SECRETARY GENERAL

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Samantha Power
U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations
New York, NY
March 24, 2015
AS DELIVERED

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The United States will vote NO on the resolution proposed by the Russian Federation and we urge that other countries do the same.

This resolution attempts to undermine the Secretary-General’s authority as Chief Administrative Officer of the United Nations, a role entrusted to him by the UN Charter. At issue is a staff bulletin issued by the Secretary-General that made a straightforward change with respect to how the UN Staff Regulations and Rules are implemented. This is an administrative decision made by the UN, for the UN; this decision has not interfered and will not interfere with any Member State’s domestic legislation.

In issuing this bulletin, the Secretary-General acted within his legitimate authority and on the advice of the United Nations’ Office of Legal Affairs, OLA. OLA has shared that advice, in detail, with this Committee on several occasions. In our view, OLA’s advice is clear and persuasive, grounded in important and well-established precedents. Nonetheless, the Russian Federation has continued to press the Secretary-General to rescind the bulletin, leaving some in this Committee with a misleading impression of the bulletin’s effect.

Russia claims the administrative decision will impose a new standard on Member States. But this is not true. The bulletin changes the UN’s practice and does not seek to change Member States’ domestic legislation.

The sponsor claims the bulletin will carry significant costs. However, the UN Office of Human Resources Management has informed us that there have been no financial implications as of yet, and that any future costs would be insignificant.

It is the resolution we are being asked to vote on that would have a profound and lasting impact. This resolution seeks to alter the division of labor between the Secretary-General and the General Assembly. Of course, the General Assembly, and the Fifth Committee in particular, have essential roles to play in guiding the operation of the organization – and the United States joins all Member States here in guarding this role vigilantly. But this resolution would have us micromanage a decision that is well within the Secretary-General’s discretionary authority. It would set a dangerous precedent, diminishing the office of the Secretary-General and involving this Committee and the General Assembly in a degree of granularity that could negatively impact the effective delivery of mandates, and would create legal uncertainty around the extent of the Secretary-General’s administrative authority and legal uncertainty about the durability of future administrative decisions made by the Secretary-General.

The Secretary-General’s authority should not be undermined, this bulletin should not be politicized, and this Committee and the General Assembly should not be divided by a vote that almost none of us wanted. As such, the United States will be voting NO and we respectfully urge other countries to do the same. Thank you.

CONTINENTAL CARBON COMPANY AGREES TO INSTALL POLLUTION CONTROL TECHNOLOGY

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Monday, March 23, 2015
Settlement with Continental Carbon Company to Reduce Air Pollution at Manufacturing Facilities in Alabama, Oklahoma and Texas

In a settlement with the United States and the states of Alabama and Oklahoma, Continental Carbon Company has agreed to install pollution control technology that will significantly cut emissions of harmful air pollutants at manufacturing facilities in Alabama, Oklahoma and Texas, the Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today.  The settlement will resolve claims that Houston-based Continental violated the Clean Air Act by modifying their facilities in a way that caused the release of excess sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx).

The settlement requires Continental to pay a civil penalty of $650,000, which will be shared with Alabama and Oklahoma, co-plaintiffs in the case.  Continental must also spend $550,000 on environmental projects to help mitigate the harmful effects of air pollution on the environment and to benefit local communities, including at least $25,000 on energy efficiency projects in the communities near each of the three facilities.

“Today’s agreement is good news for residents living near Continental facilities, many of whom were overburdened by air pollution for far too long and whose children, like all Americans, should be able to breath clean air.” said Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.  “The agreement also reflects our continuing efforts to vigorously enforce the Clean Air Act to protect public health and the environment.  The settlement requires Continental to control large sources of air pollution with advanced technology and requires projects that will have a direct and positive impact on Continental’s neighbors.”

“This settlement brings another major carbon black company into compliance with a law that protects clean air for American communities,” said Assistant Administrator Cynthia Giles of EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.  “By investigating all 15 carbon black manufacturing plants in the U.S., EPA is committed to improving public health and leveling the playing field for companies that follow the law.  By installing the latest pollution control technology and funding environmental projects, Continental is taking steps to reduce emissions of air pollutants that can lead to serious health problems.”

Continental manufactures carbon black, a fine carbonaceous powder used in tires, plastics, rubber, inkjet toner and cosmetics, at facilities in Phenix City, Alabama, Ponca City, Oklahoma, and Sunray, Texas.  Because the oil used to make carbon black is high in sulfur, its production creates large amounts of nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide and particulate matter.  This settlement supports EPA’s and the Justice Department's national efforts to advance environmental justice by working to protect communities such as Phenix City and Ponca City that have been disproportionately impacted by pollution.

EPA expects that the actions required by the settlement will reduce harmful emissions by approximately 6,278 tons per year of sulfur dioxide and 1,590 tons per year of nitrogen oxide.  Continental estimates that it will spend about $98 million to implement the required measures.  The pollution reductions will be achieved through the installation, upgrade and operation of state-of-the-art pollution control devices designed to reduce emissions and protect public health.

SO2 and NOx have numerous adverse effects on human health and are significant contributors to acid rain, smog and haze.  These pollutants are converted in the air to particulate matter that can cause severe respiratory and cardiovascular impacts, and premature death.

EPA concluded that the modifications made at Continental’s plants violated the Clean Air Act based on information the company submitted in response to an information request from EPA in 2007.  EPA issued notices of violation to Continental for these claims in 2012.

The settlement was filed with the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Oklahoma and is subject to a 30 day public comment period.  The company is required to pay the penalty within 30 days after the court approves the settlement.

This settlement is part of EPA’s National Enforcement Initiative to control harmful emissions from large sources of pollution.  Through the initiative, EPA investigated all 15 of the carbon black plants in the U.S. for violations of the Clean Air Act’s Prevention of Significant Deterioration requirements.  With this settlement, six of the 15 facilities will be covered by consent decrees with EPA.  In 2013, EPA announced the first national carbon black settlement with Boston-based Cabot Corporation, the second largest carbon black manufacturer in the United States.

WHITE HOUSE FACT SHEET ON STEPS TO ATTRACT FOREIGN INVESTORS AND CREATE JOBS THROUGH EXPANDING SELECTUSA

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE  
March 23, 2015

FACT SHEET: President Obama to Announce New Steps to Attract Foreign Investors and Create Jobs through the Continued Expansion of the SelectUSA Initiative

The United States is the bright spot in the global economy, further proof that the President’s middle class economic agenda is working. More than 12 million jobs have been created over the last 60 months, and wages are beginning to rise again. In fact, U.S. businesses have added more than 200,000 jobs per month every month for 12 consecutive months—the first time that’s happened in 37 years.

Global investors have taken notice and are accelerating their investment in the United States, already home to more foreign direct investment than any other country in the world.  Foreign businesses have injected an average of $67 billion a quarter into the U.S. economy over the last three quarters, compared with an average of $49 billion quarterly from 2009 to 2013, according to Department of Commerce data released last week.

To maintain this momentum, today the President will announce new Administration initiatives to bring job-creating investment from around the world to the United States at the second SelectUSA Investment Summit.

Investment Announcements: Summit participants have already announced at least $13 billion in U.S. investments over the last year and an estimated 32,500 new U.S. jobs, according to data compiled by fDi Markets.
Further Expansions to SelectUSA:  Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker will create the first-ever federal advisory committee focused on attracting and retaining foreign direct investment into the United States. SelectUSA will strengthen its partnership with states and expand customized trainings for first-time investors.
Administrative Actions to Recruit and Retain Global Talent: The Department of Homeland Security will clarify guidelines for global companies seeking to staff new and expanding U.S. operations with specialized knowledge related to their company or industry without impacting job opportunities for U.S. workers.
Second SelectUSA Investment Summit

Established by the President in 2011, SelectUSA is the first-ever government wide program to promote and facilitate job-creating business investment into the United States. Today, more than 2,600 people—including 1,300 companies from more than 70 countries and over 500 U.S. economic development officials from across the country—will attend the second SelectUSA Investment Summit for two days of matchmaking, information sessions, and presentations.

The United States is the world’s premier destination for investment and home to more foreign direct investment than any other country in the world. During the past year alone, 170 of the foreign firms attending the Summit have announced U.S. investments valued at about $13 billion and expected to create more than 32,500 U.S. jobs, according to data compiled by fDi Markets. The announcements come as the U.S. enjoys accelerated inflows of foreign direct investment in recent quarters.

This surge in FDI follows President Obama’s 2013 announcement of an aggressive enhancement and expansion of his SelectUSA investment-promotion initiative—and the results are billions in returns on taxpayer investment.

Since 2011, SelectUSA has helped facilitate more than $20 billion of investments in the United States, generating thousands of jobs and spurring economic growth. The program doubled the number of investors and U.S. economic development organizations (EDOs) it served last year to over 1,000, and is on track to increase its client base by more than 50 percent this year.

Actions to Enhance SelectUSA and Increase U.S. Attractiveness to Investors

Today, the Administration will announce further expansion of its assistance to U.S. economic development organizations and to international investors, through new partnerships with states, enhanced online tools, and a SelectUSA training program that was piloted at the Summit. Specifically:

New partnership with state economic development organizations: SelectUSA will convene at the Summit the first semi-annual gathering of a collaborative platform for federal and state economic development officials. The partnership will improve state-federal coordination, inform SelectUSA services and programs, and promote high standards in investment-promotion activities across the country.

Federal advisory committee: Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker will establish the first-ever federal advisory committee to solicit formal input on the development and implementation of strategies and programs to attract and retain foreign direct investment in the United States.

Improved online tools for investors: SelectUSA has made available on its site for the first time a database of state-level incentives. The Department of Commerce has also made the website clustermapping.us, a joint project of the Harvard Business School and the Economic Development Administration, available to investors and economic developers. The Cluster Mapping website provides data and tools that make it easier for investors to identify regional concentrations of specific industries and locate potential economic partners. SelectUSA is committed to further improving online tools so that investors can more fully consider the advantages offered by the United States.

New and improved foreign direct investment data coming out this year:  The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) will begin to report new data this year about the impact of foreign direct investment on the U.S. economy, and FDI contributions to employment. The data will allow investors and policymakers to distinguish and assess patterns of “greenfield” investments that establish new U.S. businesses.

Launch of SelectUSA Academy:  Through 2014, SelectUSA provided consultation for U.S. economic developers, seminars in at least 25 countries for investors, and a 101 series of webinars on infrastructure investing.  This culminated in the first-ever SelectUSA Academy, held March 22nd, the evening before the Summit kick-off.  Building on the success of this effort, SelectUSA will expand online and on-site training programs for investors and EDOs.
U.S. to be featured at 2016 Hannover Messe: Today, U.S. and German officials announced that the United States, led by the Department of Commerce, will be the featured official “Partner Country” for the 2016 Hannover Messe. Hannover Messe is the largest industrial trade fair in the world, attracting approximately 6,500 exhibitors and 250,000 visitors every year. As Partner Country, the United States will be featured to a global audience as a supplier of high quality products and a prime location for business investment.

Policy Guidance for L-1B Visas:  Policy Guidance for L-1B Visas:   U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will increase clarity around the adjudication of the L-1B non immigrant visa that allows international companies to temporarily deploy workers with specialized knowledge to the United States when launching or conducting operations here. This long-anticipated policy guidance, which will be released for public feedback, is of particular interest to global companies participating in the SelectUSA Investment Summit.
Surging Interest in the U.S. as Place to Locate Businesses and Create Jobs

Record attendance at the Summit—more than twice as large as the inaugural 2013 event—reflects growing global interest in the United States as a place to launch and expand operations, invest in research and development, and create jobs.  In fact:

Foreign direct investments have surged the last three quarters of 2014, compared with the year-earlier period. New Commerce Department data released last week showed that global investors pumped an average of $67 billion every quarter into the U.S. economy in the last three quarters of 2014, compared with an average of $50 billion per quarter in recent years.

Surveys show investors rate the U.S. as top destination for investment. After eclipsing China, Brazil, and India in 2013 to take the top spot in A.T. Kearney’s FDI Confidence Index, the United States remains “the prime destination” for investment in the world, according to the consulting firm’s survey of C-suite executives. More than half of large manufacturers will increase U.S. hiring by 5 percent or more in 2015, according to an October survey by the Boston Consulting Group.

WHITE HOUSE FACT SHEET ON DELIVERING BROADBAND

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE,
March 23, 2015

FACT SHEET: Next Steps in Delivering Fast, Affordable Broadband

“Twenty-first century businesses need 21st century infrastructure -- modern ports, and stronger bridges, faster trains and the fastest Internet…I intend to protect a free and open Internet, extend its reach to every classroom, and every community, and help folks build the fastest networks so that the next generation of digital innovators and entrepreneurs have the platform to keep reshaping our world.”

                                                                        -President Obama, State of the Union, 2015

In January, the President traveled to Cedar Falls, Iowa to announce his plan to promote “Broadband that Works,” a public-private effort to help more Americans, in more communities around the country, get access to fast and affordable broadband.  Making good on the vision he outlined in his State of the Union Address means promoting investment and rewarding competition. Today, the Administration announced progress since January and new steps in that effort, including:

Reaching the National Goal of Providing 98 Percent of Americans with Access to High-Speed, Mobile Broadband.  In 2011, the President challenged the public and private sector to work together to expand wireless access and set the ambitious goal of providing 4th Generation (4G) mobile broadband to at least 98 percent of Americans.  Today, based on newly released data from the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), we are announcing that through significant private investment we have reached that goal — nearly two years ahead of schedule.  The Obama Administration put in place policies that have helped drive progress toward this milestone, and will continue to promote robust investment in wireless broadband connectivity, including:

Initiating the Most Successful Mobile Spectrum Auction in American History. Setting in motion the highest-grossing auction of mobile spectrum in American history — raising more than $41 billion. Freeing up this spectrum for private investment will lead to better mobile connectivity while funding important priorities like a first-responders network and reducing the deficit. This success will keep the momentum for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s upcoming “incentive auction” of television broadcast spectrum slated for early 2016.

Continuing to Free Up Wireless Spectrum. Concerted government efforts to successfully free up wireless spectrum previously held by government agencies have, to date, formally recommended or otherwise identified 335 Mhz of Federal and non-Federal spectrum for potential reallocation.

Expanding Access to Broadband in Rural and Underserved Areas.  Over $7 billion of Recovery Act funding went to increasing broadband connectivity, including to under-served areas, which is the foundation of high-speed wireless service.  In all, these efforts have installed or upgraded over 174,000 miles of high-speed broadband infrastructure.  The Administration will also continue to support the FCC’s Universal Service Fund (USF), which has invested over $25 billion since 2008, to encourage investment in high-cost and rural broadband, both fixed and mobile.

Standing up the Broadband Opportunity Council.  Today the President signed a new Presidential Memorandum making good on his promise in Cedar Falls to stand up a new Council singularly focused on increasing broadband investment and adoption.

The Council, co-chaired by the Secretaries of Commerce and Agriculture, includes over twenty-five different government agencies and components, all united around clear policy objectives to:

Engage with industry and other stakeholders to understand ways the government can better support the needs of communities seeking broadband investment;
Identify regulatory barriers unduly impeding broadband deployment or competition;

Survey and report back on existing programs that currently support or could be modified to support broadband competition, deployment or adoption; and
Take all necessary actions to remove these barriers and re-align existing programs to increase broadband competition, deployment, and adoption.
The Council will report back to the President, within 150 days, with the steps each agency will take to advance these goals, including specific regulatory actions or budget proposals.

These steps will build on and expand several actions agencies have already taken during this Administration, such as developing a common application form for wireless broadband providers to lease space for their rooftop antennas, sharing of best practices for “dig once” policies by state and municipal governments nationwide, and offering new online tools for finding and leasing federal assets available for broadband networks.

Building on the FCC’s Landmark Decision to Promote Local Choice. The FCC last month independently decided to take action against two of the nineteen state laws that restrict communities from deciding what broadband solutions fit their needs.  This step forward helped unserved and under-served communities, many of whom have no way to stay economically competitive absent a municipal provider of broadband.

As a result, communities in two states — Tennessee and North Carolina — will no longer be held back from setting up municipal networks like successful examples in Chattanooga and Wilson, where those networks affordably deliver broadband speeds around 100 times the national average.

Continued Support to Communities & Competitors Expanding Broadband Offerings. The Administration continues to build on the momentum we began earlier this year with the standup of Commerce’s BroadbandUSA program. Later this year, the Department of Agriculture will reopen a revamped broadband loan program, which offers financing to eligible rural carriers that invest in bringing high-speed broadband to unserved and under-served rural areas.

Today the Department of Agriculture is announcing a total of $35 million in broadband infrastructure loans in Arkansas, New Mexico, and Iowa to deliver enhanced services to help attract and grow businesses, as well as to improve educational and health care services.  Time and again, studies show that affordable broadband offers increased economic opportunities in rural areas, which is why Rural Development is committed to delivering high-speed Internet service to these communities.

Through the BroadbandUSA program, the Department of Commerce has followed through on its promise to support more communities seeking to learn from the experts on how to increase broadband investment and competition — including through municipal broadband. Since January, Commerce has provided ongoing one-on-one advice to communities across the U.S. including in Ohio, Kansas, Florida, California, and West Virginia; organized a regional summit in Jackson, Mississippi; and held a national webinar to introduce BroadbandUSA and present the new Guide to Public-Private Partnerships for Broadband Investment.

Announcing the Community Broadband Summit.

FDA ASKS "ARE SOME COSMETICS PROMISING TOO MUCH?"

FROM:  FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION

Americans spend a lot of money on creams, lotions and other cosmetics that promise to improve their skin, hair, and even eyelashes.
But sometimes those promises go too far.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns cosmetics companies when they make claims about their products that classify them as drugs, not cosmetics. FDA has issued warning letters citing drug claims associated with topical skin care, hair care, and eyelash/eyebrow preparations, noted on both product labeling and Web sites. Some examples of the drug claims cited are acne treatment, dandruff treatment and hair restoration.

These letters state that the products are being marketed with drug claims—indicating that they are intended to treat or prevent disease, or change the body’s structure or functions. The agency tells companies that they need to remove any drug claims from their products’ labeling or seek FDA approval to market these products as drugs.

“Consumers need to know that these drug claims have not been proven to FDA when they are making a decision to purchase one of these products,” says Linda M. Katz, M.D., MPH, director of FDA’s Office of Cosmetics and Colors. “These products must be evaluated by FDA as drugs before the companies can make claims about changing the skin or treating disease.”

Some of the drug claims have included promises to increase production of collagen and elastin, resulting in skin that is more elastic and firmer, with fewer wrinkles.

Some get even more specific, such as claims that products reduce inflammation, regenerate cells, prevent facial muscle contractions, boost activity of genes, or give you the same results as injections or surgery. Others promise to treat medical conditions, such as acne, rosacea, eczema, and psoriasis.

MARCH 24, 2015: DOD REPORTS AIRSTRIKES AGAINST ISIL

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Coalition Airstrikes Hit ISIL in Syria, Iraq
From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, March 24, 2015 – U.S. and coalition military forces have continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Officials reported details of the latest strikes, which took place between 8 a.m. yesterday and 8 a.m. today, local time, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Airstrikes in Syria

Fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted six airstrikes near Kobani, which struck four ISIL tactical units and destroyed five ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL vehicle and an ISIL checkpoint.

Airstrikes in Iraq

Fighter and attack aircraft conducted eight airstrikes in Iraq, approved by the Iraqi Ministry of Defense:

-- Near Beiji, two airstrikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL shipping containers.

-- Near Fallujah, an airstrike struck an ISIL vehicle.

-- Near Mosul, two airstrikes destroyed two ISIL excavators.

-- Near Sinjar, an airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL building.

-- Near Tal Afar, two airstrikes struck an ISIL tactical unit, an ISIL roadside bomb and bomb storage facility, and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.
Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the ISIL terrorist group and the threat they pose to Iraq, Syria, the region, and the wider international community. The destruction of ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the terrorist group's ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said.

Coalition nations conducting airstrikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations conducting airstrikes in Syria include the United States, Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

U.S.-AFGHANISTAN ISSUE JOINT STATEMENT

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE
March 24, 2015
U.S.-Afghanistan Joint Statement

President Barack Obama welcomed Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, and the accompanying Afghan delegation to Washington from March 22-26, 2015.

The visit offered an opportunity to renew U.S.-Afghan relations, review the joint achievements of the last 13 years in Afghanistan, and to discuss the actions each country needs to take to ensure that the social, economic, security and human rights gains made over that period are sustained and advanced.

President Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah expressed deep appreciation for the contributions, sacrifices and sustained commitment of the United States that made these achievements possible and underscored that this support is paying dividends for Afghans, Americans, and the international community alike.  The Afghan economy has grown more than fourfold over the last 13 years and young Afghans are attending school at unprecedented levels, with girls and women comprising a growing percentage of these students.

The leaders further noted the success of joint counter-terrorism efforts to date and emphasized that sustained U.S. and other international assistance will be important to enable the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) to address the significant security challenges facing Afghanistan and the wider region. President Obama and President Ghani reiterated their commitments under the U.S.-Afghanistan Enduring Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) and the U.S.–Afghanistan Security and Defense Cooperation Agreement (also known as the Bilateral Security Agreement, or BSA) to advance common objectives in these and other areas. The Presidents welcomed the decision of Secretary of State Kerry and Foreign Minister Rabbani made on March 23 at Camp David to meet again in Kabul this year to restart the U.S.-Afghanistan Bilateral Commission meetings and to review progress in the implementation of the SPA.

Promoting Our Shared Democratic Values

President Obama commended President Ghani, Chief Executive Abdullah and the Afghan people on the landmark 2014 presidential election resulting in the first democratic and peaceful transfer of power in Afghanistan’s history. President Ghani noted that the broad based and inclusive National Unity Government that emerged from that election enjoys the full support of the Afghan people. President Obama welcomed the recent announcement of a slate of cabinet nominees. President Ghani reaffirmed the new Afghan government’s commitment to maintaining and expanding the role of an independent, vibrant civil society and to protecting the human rights of all Afghans. President Obama encouraged a strong partnership between President Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah and welcomed the National Unity Government’s goals of promoting security, economic growth, democracy and human rights, in particular the rights of women and minorities.  President Obama further welcomed the announcement of the establishment of the Afghan Special Commission for Electoral Reform envisioned in the September 2014 political framework as a means to further the national unity government’s goals in this area and offered financial support for Afghan electoral operations and reform efforts.

Advancing Long-Term Security and Strengthening the Peace Process

President Ghani and President Obama reaffirmed their shared commitment, reflected in the SPA and BSA, to closely cooperate in preventing terrorists from ever again using Afghan soil to threaten Afghanistan, the region, or the world. President Obama hailed the successful completion of the security transition, the end of the NATO-led combat mission, and Afghan forces taking the lead on, and full responsibility for, security throughout Afghanistan. The leaders also acknowledged the important continuing role of NATO’s new Resolute Support Mission in supporting the further development of the ANDSF’s capabilities.

Both Presidents saluted the courage and growing capability of Afghan security forces, including their success in securing the elections last year. The leaders joined in paying their respects to the families of Afghan soldiers and civilians who have been killed or injured in the 13-year war. President Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah also offered condolences to the families of American soldiers and civilians who were killed and injured while serving in Afghanistan, and on behalf of the Afghan people, expressed gratitude to the American people for their sacrifices and continued support.

Both sides agreed on an early formation of the Joint Commission to oversee the implementation of the BSA and President Obama affirmed ongoing U.S. support for Afghan security forces.  Based on President Ghani’s request for flexibility in the U.S. draw down timeline, the U.S. will maintain its current posture of 9,800 troops through the end of 2015.  The specific trajectory of the 2016 U.S. troop drawdown will be established later in 2015 to enable the U.S. troop consolidation to a Kabul-based embassy presence by the end of 2016. This flexibility reflects the re-invigorated partnership with Afghanistan, which is aimed at making Afghanistan secure and preventing it from being used to launch terrorist attacks.  Reconciliation and a political settlement remain the surest way to achieve the full retrograde of U.S. and foreign troops from Afghanistan in a way that safeguards international interests and peace in Afghanistan, as well as U.S. national security interests.  Consistent with the principles of the SPA and BSA and as part of the broader bilateral security relationship, the two Presidents agreed to continue a dialogue on U.S. and Afghan counterterrorism (CT) objectives, to include the development of a joint CT partnership strategy through and beyond 2016.

While reaffirming their determination to cooperate against those who advocate violence and extremism, President Obama and President Ghani also stressed the need for an Afghan-led peace process, enjoying regional support, in particular from Pakistan, noting that as a part of the outcome of any such process, the Taliban and other armed opposition groups must end violence, break ties with international terrorist groups, and accept Afghanistan’s constitution, including its protections for the rights of women and minorities.  President Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah emphasized their mutual and strong determination to advance a reconciliation process based on these principles.  President Obama reaffirmed strong U.S. support for an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned peace process and committed to make available additional financial support for the Afghan Peace and Reintegration Program (APRP) to facilitate the peaceful reintegration of former combatants into their local communities.

President Obama welcomed recent developments in Afghan-Pakistani relations. Both leaders emphasized the importance of continued efforts to advance Afghan-Pakistani dialogue aimed at building trust and producing tangible progress in the peace process, and improving the security situation in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the region at large.

Reinforcing Regional Security and Cooperation

The leaders called on all countries in the region to support Afghanistan’s security, stability and prosperity. Both presidents endorsed efforts to deepen the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process and expressed appreciation to China for hosting the October 2014 Heart of Asia summit and to Pakistan for hosting the next meeting later this year. President Obama welcomed steps by the National Unity Government to integrate Afghanistan more fully into the regional economy through various regional organizations, processes and programs and committed continued U.S. support for those efforts. President Ghani presented a development strategy built around regional connectivity, good governance, and investments for productivity.  Central to this strategy is cooperation between Afghanistan and the region through trade, transit and investments.  The two Presidents agreed to work to bring together like-minded countries to discuss Afghanistan and regional integration efforts at a high-level meeting on the margins of the 2015 United Nations General Assembly meeting.

Fostering Social and Economic Development

The leaders acknowledged the significant challenges Afghanistan is facing as it strives to overcome its current budgetary gap, and become increasingly economically and fiscally self-reliant. Emphasizing that economic reform is a central pillar of the National Unity Government’s agenda, President Ghani briefed President Obama on specific steps the Afghan government is taking to combat corruption, increase transparency, reduce poverty and create jobs.  President Ghani noted that in addition to many recent achievements, Afghanistan continues to face formidable challenges, including the need to root out corruption and strengthen good governance, build the foundation for sustainable and inclusive economic growth, increase regional connectivity, and address illicit drug production in Afghanistan.  In support of these efforts, President Obama and President Ghani announced a New Development Partnership that would focus up to $800 million in U.S. economic assistance on urgent Afghan priorities tied to Afghan achievements of specific development results and implementation of key policy reforms. President Obama also welcomed the recent successful negotiation of an IMF Staff Monitored Program for Afghanistan.  President Ghani committed to take action on all necessary steps needed to implement this program.

Both Presidents further welcomed the decision to resume regular meetings of the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement Council and the agreement to expand capacity-building cooperation between the U.S. Treasury Department and relevant Afghan government agencies as set forth in the agreement signed by Treasury Secretary Lew and Finance Minister Hakimi on March 23 at Camp David.

President Obama and President Ghani agreed that Afghan prosperity depended on the development of the country’s human capital. To this end President Ghani reiterated the Afghan government’s determination to educate all Afghan boys and girls.  President Obama expressed U.S. intent to provide sustained support for education in Afghanistan. Noting the significant impact that educational and cultural exchanges have had on Afghan and American society, and the U.S. commitment in the SPA to promote such programs, President Obama announced the U.S. intention to increase the number of Fulbright fellowships available to qualified Afghan students by 50 percent for the next five years, making this one of the largest Fulbright programs in the world. In addition, President Obama announced the establishment of an $18 million USAID scholarship program to support women attending universities throughout Afghanistan. The two presidents also welcomed the decision of the Smithsonian Institution to host a major exhibition of contemporary Afghan handicrafts in 2016.

Strengthening Afghan Institutions and Governance

President Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah outlined the National Unity Government’s efforts to improve government performance, effectiveness, efficiency, and combat corruption. They also underscored the National Unity Government’s commitment to upholding the rule of law and reforming the judiciary. They stressed that restoring Afghan people’s confidence in justice institutions is a top priority for the Afghan government. President Obama and President Ghani agreed on the importance of cooperating to provide justice sector personnel with the skills and qualifications needed to counter narcotics, ensure safe and humane corrections, expand legal education, protect the rights of women and girls, and provide other essential justice services.

Conclusion

This visit constituted the first meeting among President Obama, President Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah since the inauguration of the National Unity Government last September and marked a pivotal moment in the U.S.–Afghan partnership. Looking back, it was an opportunity to review the remarkable strategic, political and economic achievements of this partnership and the successful completion of the security transition in Afghanistan. Looking forward, both presidents endorsed a vision of a sustained relationship rooted in shared values, interests and sacrifices, bound by mutual commitments enshrined in the U.S.–Afghanistan Enduring Strategic Partnership Agreement.  

6/23/15: WHITE HOUSE PRESS BRIEFING

U.S. ARMY PARACHUTE TEAM, GOLDEN KNIGHTS, READY FOR SEASON

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

Members of the U.S. Army Parachute Team, Golden Knights, perform an uncompressed three stack with the U.S., POW/MIA and the Army Flag during canopy training over Homestead Air Reserve Base, Fla., March 12, 2015. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Larry Miller.

Members of the U.S. Army Parachute Team, Golden Knights, steer canopies after performing a side-by-side while training over Homestead Air Reserve Base, Fla., March 12, 2015. U.S. Army photo by Jerry Morrison.

TROOPS AND TAXPAYERS THANKED FOR SUPPORT BY AFGHAN PRESIDENT GHANI

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

Right:  U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, left, shakes hands with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani at the Pentagon, March 23, 2015. Carter hosted Ghani and Afghan Chief Executive Dr. Abdullah Abdullah for a visit. During remarks in the Pentagon's courtyard, Ghani thanked U.S. service members and veterans who served in Afghanistan for their efforts and sacrifices. DoD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Sean Hurt.  

Afghan Leader Thanks U.S. Troops, Taxpayers for Support
By Cheryl Pellerin
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, March 23, 2015 – Taking the stage with U.S. leaders early this morning in the Pentagon courtyard, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani thanked U.S. troops and all Americans for their support of his country.

Senior officials joining Ghani included Afghan Chief Executive Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, Secretary of State John F. Kerry, Defense Secretary Ash Carter, Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work, and other senior officials.
During his introduction of Ghani, Carter told the audience that the Afghan president is here on behalf of all Afghans “to thank all the Americans whose service has kept the United States secure and given hope and opportunity to his countrymen.”

Ghani has deep ties to the United States, the secretary added, naming the Afghan president’s attendance at American University in Beirut and Columbia University in New York, and teaching posts at the University of California-Berkeley and Johns Hopkins University in Maryland.

Easing the Afghan Transition

Later, as a scholar, Carter said, Ghani studied state-building and breaking the cycle of conflict.

“As a practitioner at the World Bank and the United Nations,” the secretary said, “[Ghani] applied those lessons, managing large-scale economic development projects in countries like India and China, and helping ease the transition in Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban.”

In his career and in his leadership of Afghanistan, Ghani demonstrates that public service is a public trust, Carter said.

“Along with Dr. Abdullah, President Ghani has made clear to the Afghan people that, for all the assistance that the United States, our military and the international community can and will furnish, Afghanistan's future is ultimately for Afghans to grab hold of and for Afghans to decide,” the defense secretary said.

Paying Tribute to the Fallen

Addressing the audience after Carter’s introduction, Ghani said, “I want to first pay tribute to … [the] 2,215 Americans who paid the ultimate sacrifice. To more than 20,000 American soldiers who have been wounded in action … [and] close to a million American service men and women who have gotten to know my country.”

American troops have been in Afghanistan’s most-remote valleys and on the highest peaks, in parched deserts and beautiful valleys, he said, “but also in the most demanding situations. Each one of you has left a legacy, but I also understand that Afghanistan has marked you.”

Ghani added, “When you wake up at night, sometimes you're not sure whether you're back there or here, but what gratifies me as the president of Afghanistan is what I've had the honor to hear repeatedly from American veterans, ‘I have left a piece of my heart in Afghanistan.’ Thank you,” he said to applause.

Each service member deployed to Afghanistan also left a memory in the heart of every Afghan that they encountered, Ghani added.
'Not There Just to Fight'

“You were not there just to fight. … You built schools, you built dams, you build roads, and while the physical infrastructure [has] changed lives, it is the attitude [of caring, discipline and sacrifice] that you brought with it. … The Afghan people, but particularly the Afghan security forces, honor that attitude,” the Afghan president said.

The U.S. combat role in Afghanistan ended on Dec. 31, 2014, and the legacy is a proud Afghan security force “that has dealt with the best of you and emulates the best of your example,” he said.

Ghani told the Pentagon audience that he will name a section of the Marshal Fahim National Defense University in Kabul, where he said generations of Afghans will be trained, in honor of Army Maj. Gen. Harold J. Greene, who served as deputy commanding general of Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan.

Greene, whose widow was in the audience this morning, was the first U.S. general officer killed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He and more than a dozen others were killed and more were wounded in an attack at the military academy by a lone gunman in August 2014.
Tribute to Tough Partners

Ghani also paid tribute to “tough partners” Carter and Kerry, and to President Barack Obama for their long-standing support of Afghanistan.

And he thanked the American taxpayer, the men and women who are making “your hard-earned dollars available for Afghanistan. And because of that, the government of national unity … is committed to account for every single one of those dollars and pennies.”

This phase of the U.S.-Afghan partnership with the defense community is about building systems, procedures and processes, Ghani said, so the right leadership and the dedicated staff can use those resources for the best purpose.
Speaking Truth to Terror

“We are not going to be a burden,” Ghani added.

“We do not now ask what the United States can do for us, if I can play on President [John] Kennedy. We want to see what Afghanistan will do for itself and for the world. That means we are going to put our house in order,” he said.
He called Afghanistan a front-line state, adding, “We die on a daily basis. … We die, but we will never be defeated.”

Terrorism is a threat, Ghani said to applause, “but we, the people of Afghanistan, are willing to speak truth to terror by saying, ‘No, you will never overwhelm us, you will never subdue us, we are going to overcome.’”
Partnership is Foundational

In this endeavor, he said, “our partnership with the United States is foundational because we will be the first line of defense for freedom globally.”

The Afghan president added, “Thank you. God bless the friendship between the United States and Afghanistan.”

SECRETARY KERRY, AFGHAN PRESIDENT GHANI MAKE REMARKS AT CAMP DAVID

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Remarks With Afghan President Ashraf Ghani
Remarks
Camp David, MD
March 23, 2015

SECRETARY KERRY: Well, good morning, everybody. On behalf of President Obama, Vice President Biden, and the entire Administration and my fellow secretaries, we are very, very pleased to welcome Dr. Ashraf Ghani, the president of Afghanistan, and Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, the chief executive officer, to Camp David. President Obama thought it would be a good idea to invite the president to come to Camp David, which is historically a place of diplomacy when it is not the retreat for the President. And we are gathered here with the entire security team of the President in order to spend a quiet, thoughtful day in an atmosphere of open discussion in order to talk about the remarkable transition that is taking place in Afghanistan.

This is President Ghani’s first visit to Washington since the peaceful transfer of power in Afghanistan in a democratic process for the first time in history, and also the first time in history a unity government. Both Dr. Abdullah and President Ghani took great steps to make that happen. So he has an extraordinarily busy schedule: a full day of discussions today; a visit to the White House, a lengthy one, tomorrow; a joint session of Congress address; a trip to New York to meet with the secretary-general; and a lot of meetings in between with economists, journalists, various women’s groups, NGOs, and others here in Washington.

So we have a lot of work to do. We’re delighted to be able to enjoy these remarkable surroundings as a place to really talk about the future of Afghanistan. (Inaudible.)

PRESIDENT GHANI: Good morning. First of all, Dr. Abdullah and I are here with our team to say a very big thank you to the American public, American Administration, American Congress for selfless support over the years. The partnership of the United States is foundational for the government of national unity, and we are delighted to have the full team to discuss a changing context and to be able to affirm a partnership that is based on value, respect for democratic process, electoral reforms, comprehensive reforms of the economy, governance, and related issues.

Our message is one that it’s time for Afghanistan to reciprocate the gift that the United States has so generously provided over the years. Reciprocating the gift means owning our problems, solving them, and asking of ourselves what we must do for ourselves and for the region. We pursue a very active diplomacy at the regional level, at the Arab-Islamic level, and global level. This is a remarkable opportunity for us to discuss issues in depth, to be able to say thank you again, and to put the strategic partnership agreement and the bilateral security agreement into an operational (inaudible).

So thank you, Mr. Secretary, for your personal engagement. Thank you to Secretary Carter, Secretary Lew – old friends of ours. We are all looking very much forward to an in-depth discussion and open environment, and thank you for allowing us to remove the ties. (Laughter.)

SECRETARY KERRY: We have a lot of work to do. We’re going to go do it, and we’ll, all of us, have a chance to talk with you when we finish. Thank you.

PRESIDENT GHANI: Thank you.

WHITE HOUSE VIDEO: THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT: 5 YEARS LATER

VIRUSES IN THE DEEP

FROM:  NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
The 'intraterrestrials': New viruses discovered in ocean depths

Viruses infect methane-eating archaea beneath the seafloor
The intraterrestrials, they might be called.

Strange creatures live in the deep sea, but few are odder than the viruses that inhabit deep ocean methane seeps and prey on single-celled microorganisms called archaea.

The least understood of life's three primary domains, archaea thrive in the most extreme environments on the planet: near hot ocean rift vents, in acid mine drainage, in the saltiest of evaporation ponds and in petroleum deposits deep underground.

Virus in the deep blue sea

While searching the ocean's depths for evidence of viruses, scientists have found a remarkable new one, a virus that seemingly infects archaea that live beneath the ocean floor.

The researchers were surprised to discover that the virus selectively targets one of its own genes for mutation, and that this capacity is also shared by archaea themselves.

The findings appear today in a paper in the journal Nature Communications.

The project was supported by a National Science Foundation (NSF) Dimensions of Biodiversity grant to characterize microbial diversity in methane seep ecosystems. Dimensions of Biodiversity is supported by NSF's Directorates for Biological Sciences and Geosciences.

New information about life in ocean depths

"Life far beneath the Earth's subsurface is an enigma," said Matt Kane, program director in NSF's Division of Environmental Biology. "By probing deep into our planet, these scientists have discovered new information about Earth's microbes and how they evolve."

"Our study uncovers mechanisms by which viruses and archaea can adapt in this hostile environment," said David Valentine, a geoscientist at the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) and co-author of the paper.

The results, he said, raise new questions about the evolution and interaction of the microbes that call the planet's interior home.

"It's now thought that there's more biomass inside the Earth than anywhere else, just living very slowly in this dark, energy-limited environment," said paper co-author Sarah Bagby of UCSB.

Using the submersible Alvin, Valentine and colleagues collected samples from a deep-ocean methane seep by pushing tubes into the ocean floor and retrieving sediments.

The contents were brought back to the lab and fed methane gas, helping the methane-eating archaea in the samples to grow.

When the team assayed the samples for viral infection, they discovered a new virus with a distinctive genetic fingerprint that suggested its likely host was methane-eating archaea.

Genetic sequence of new virus holds the key

The researchers used the genetic sequence of the new virus to chart other occurrences in global databases.

"We found a partial genetic match from methane seeps off Norway and California," said lead author Blair Paul of UCSB. "The evidence suggests that this viral type is distributed around the globe in deep ocean methane seeps."

Further investigation revealed another unexpected finding: a small genetic element, known as a diversity-generating retroelement, that accelerates mutation of a specific section of the virus's genome.

Such elements had been previously identified in bacteria and their viruses, but never among archaea or the viruses that infect them.

"These researchers have shown that cutting-edge genomic approaches can help us understand how microbes function in remote and poorly known environments such as ocean depths," said David Garrison, program director in NSF's Division of Ocean Sciences.

While the self-guided mutation element in the archaea virus resembles known bacterial elements, the researchers found that it has a divergent evolutionary history.

"The target of guided mutation--the tips of the virus that make first contact when infecting a cell--is similar," said Paul.

"But the ability to mutate those tips is an offensive countermeasure against the cell's defenses, a move that resembles a molecular arms race."

Unusual genetic adaptations

Having found guided mutation in a virus-infecting archaea, the scientists reasoned that archaea themselves might use the same mechanism for genetic adaptation.

In an exhaustive search, they identified parallel features in the genomes of a subterranean group of archaea known as nanoarchaea.

Unlike the deep-ocean virus that uses guided mutation to alter a single gene, the nanoarchaea target at least four distinct genes.

"It's a new record," said Bagby.

"Bacteria had been observed to target two genes with this mechanism. That may not seem like a huge difference, but targeting four is extraordinary."

According to Valentine, the genetic mutation that fosters these potential variations may be key to the survival of archaea beneath the Earth's surface.

"The cell is choosing to modify certain proteins," he said. "It's doing its own protein engineering. While we don't yet know what those proteins are being used for, learning about the process can tell us something about the environment in which these organisms thrive."

Viral DNA sequencing was provided through a Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation grant. The research team also included scientists from the University of California, Los Angeles; the University of California, San Diego; and the U.S. Department of Energy's Joint Genome Institute.

-NSF-
Media Contacts
Cheryl Dybas, NSF

FORMER RABOBANK TRADER ARRAIGNED ON CHARGES RELATED TO LIBOR INTEREST RATE MANIPULATION

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Friday, March 20, 2015
Former U.K. Rabobank Trader Appears in U.S. Court to Face LIBOR Interest Rate Manipulation Charges

The former global head of liquidity and finance for Coöperatieve Centrale Raiffeisen-Boerenleenbank B.A. (Rabobank) has waived extradition and appeared in U.S. federal court today for an arraignment on charges related to his alleged role in a scheme to manipulate the U.S. Dollar (USD) and Yen London InterBank Offered Rate (LIBOR), a benchmark interest rate.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division and Assistant Director in Charge Andrew G. McCabe of the FBI’s Washington Field Office made the announcement.

Anthony Allen, 43, of Hertsfordshire, England, appeared in the Southern District of New York and pleaded not guilty to a superseding indictment charging him with conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud and substantive counts of wire fraud.  The court released Allen on a $500,000 bond and set a trial date for Oct. 5, 2015.

According to the superseding indictment, at the time relevant to the charges, LIBOR was an average interest rate, calculated based on submissions from leading banks around the world, reflecting the rates those banks believed they would be charged if borrowing from other banks.  It serves as the primary benchmark for short-term interest rates globally and is used as a reference rate for many interest rate contracts, mortgages, credit cards, student loans and other consumer lending products.  LIBOR was published by the British Bankers’ Association (BBA), a trade association based in London.  LIBOR was calculated for 10 currencies at 15 borrowing periods, known as maturities, ranging from overnight to one year.  The published LIBOR “fix” for U.S. Dollar and Yen currency for a specific maturity was the result of a calculation based upon submissions from a panel of 16 banks, including Rabobank.

According to allegations in the superseding indictment, Allen, who was Rabobank’s Global Head of Liquidity & Finance and the manager of the company’s money market desk in London, put in place a system in which Rabobank employees who traded in derivative products linked to USD and Yen LIBOR regularly communicated their trading positions to Rabobank’s LIBOR submitters, who submitted Rabobank’s LIBOR contributions to the BBA.  Rabobank traders entered into derivative contracts containing USD or Yen LIBOR as a price component and they allegedly asked others at Rabobank to submit LIBOR contributions consistent with the traders’ or the bank’s financial interests, to benefit the traders’ or the banks’ trading positions.  

The charges in the superseding indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The investigation is being conducted by special agents, forensic accountants and intelligence analysts in the FBI’s Washington Field Office.  The prosecution is being handled by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the Antitrust Division.  The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs has provided assistance in this matter.

The Justice Department expresses its appreciation for the assistance provided by various enforcement agencies in the United States and abroad.  The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Division of Enforcement referred this matter to the department and, along with the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority, has played a major role in the investigation.  The Securities and Exchange Commission also has played a significant role in the LIBOR series of investigations, and the department expresses its appreciation to the United Kingdom’s Serious Fraud Office for its assistance and ongoing cooperation.  The department has worked closely with the Dutch Public Prosecution Service and the Dutch Central Bank in the investigation of conduct at Rabobank.  Various agencies and enforcement authorities from other nations are also participating in different aspects of the broader investigation relating to LIBOR and other benchmark rates, and the department is grateful for their cooperation and assistance.

RESEARCHERS USING METALLIC GLASS, OTHER MATERIALS AT CELL BREAKAGE

FROM:  NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Materials, like metallic glass, can help us understand how cells break

Research could lead to faster wound recovery and prove valuable in constructing buildings, producing golf clubs and more

"Disordered" materials are so-called because they are made up of objects that are in total disarray. Their composition, whether of atoms, molecules, grains or cells, do not lie in a neat, orderly pattern, but, instead, are all jumbled up.

"They're like sand on a beach, or mayonnaise," says M. Lisa Manning, an assistant professor of physics at Syracuse University. "When you mix up the oil and water for mayonnaise, the oil droplets sit unordered. That's what makes the mayonnaise stiff, all the little oil droplets packed together."

Many of these disordered materials, metallic glass, for example, are exceptionally strong, stronger than other metals, which offers potential for many industrial uses. But they also are prone to failure, and often break. Manning is studying these materials, searching for the defects in each that produce a crack-like fissure called a shear band.

"If we can find and identify these defects, then we can understand what causes the shear band," Manning says. "My goal is to figure out how they break. I am looking for defects in these materials. Once we figure out how they break, we can then figure out how to prevent them from breaking."

If successful, these materials--because of their inherent strength--could prove valuable in manufacturing, from constructing buildings to producing golf clubs, and "would be extremely good for making precision objects, because they don't change shape when they cool down," Manning says.

Insights from her research also could have important applications for biology, ultimately leading to possible future medical treatments, because disordered cells also exist in tissues, in developing embryos and in certain cancers.

"If you look at the cells in these tissues, they are disordered and look almost identical to pictures of foams, or emulsions," Manning says. "Embryos look like this, and so do healing wounds, and some cancer tissues too."

Biologists have a good understanding of what happens when a single cell migrates, or moves, she says. "But what is not well studied is how cells in this dense packing order move through tissues, which is important for wound healing," she says. "A cell has to push its way through its neighbors to move.

"If I can understand how non-biological particles move, this can provide new and exciting insights as to how a cell can move through tissues," she adds. "How stiff are the cells around it, for example? If I want a cell to move faster in tissue, should I make it softer or stiffer? The goal is to answer this, and test it."

Understanding this process could speed wound healing and "help repair embryonic defects when cells don't move to the correct places," she says.

In cancer, "recent work has shown that cancer cells are softer than other cells, and have different mechanical properties," she says. "One question I hope to answer: if a cancer cell is softer, does that make it easier to move through tissue and metastasize? If I could stiffen up that cell with a drug, maybe it wouldn't move anymore."

To find the defects, Manning creates computer simulations of the materials and studies sound modes that vibrate within the structure, much like a specific musical note vibrates inside an organ pipe. When the researchers find "localized" vibrations, that is, a mode where the structure vibrates a lot more in a certain place, "that's where the defect is located," she says.

Manning is conducting her research under an NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award, which she received in 2014. The award supports junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organization.

As part of the grant's educational component, Manning plans to develop tutorials for high school juniors and seniors in Syracuse University's Project Advance, a program that enables these students to earn college physics credits. Project Advance provides instructional materials to high school teachers, and sponsors extra training sessions for them at the university. Manning is designing teaching modules about current research in materials science that can be directly integrated into the introductory physics curriculum, as well as an online math tutorial to tune up students' math skills.

"The goal is to increase diversity and retention in STEM disciplines," she says, referring to science, technology, engineering and mathematics. "We need more engineers, and we want to keep the ones we have, and recruit a more diverse body of students."

-- Marlene Cimons, National Science Foundation
Investigators
M. Lisa Manning
Related Institutions/Organizations
Syracuse University

U.S. CONGRATULATES PEOPLE OF GREECE ON THEIR NATIONAL DAY

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
03/23/2015 04:39 PM EDT
On The Occasion of Greek National Day
Press Statement
Washington, DC
March 23, 2015

On behalf of President Obama and the American people, I congratulate the people of Greece on the 194th anniversary of your independence.

Our two nations are united by shared values like democracy, freedom, and liberty; all first articulated in the agoras of ancient Greece.

As NATO Allies and transatlantic partners, we have fought for these values against all threats to our ways of life, including the forces of tyranny, fascism, and terrorism.

Men and women from Athens to Kalamata have also forged a rich tradition on American soil, including in my home state of Massachusetts. Thousands of Greek-Americans raise their families in my hometown of Boston. They helped build American industry in the factories of Lowell along the Merrimack River. And they’ve strengthened our democracy as elected officials, having occupied the Governor’s suite in the State House and the U.S. Senate seat I once held in Washington, D.C.

On this joyous occasion, I wish all people of Greece peace and a return to prosperity.

Συγχαρητήρια!

DOD REPORTS AIRSTRIKES AGAINST ISIL FOR MARCH 22, 2015

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Coalition Continues Airstrikes Against ISIL in Syria, Iraq
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, March 22, 2015 – U.S. and coalition military forces have continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Officials reported details of the latest strikes, which took place between 8 a.m. yesterday and 8 a.m. today, local time, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Airstrikes in Syria

Bomber and remotely piloted aircraft conducted four airstrikes in Syria:
-- Near Raqqah, an airstrike destroyed an armored personnel carrier.

-- Near Kobani, three airstrikes struck an ISIL tactical unit, three ISIL vehicles and destroyed three ISIL fighting positions.

Airstrikes in Iraq

Attack and fighter aircraft conducted five airstrikes in Iraq, approved by the Iraq Ministry of Defense:

-- Near Mosul, three airstrikes destroyed two ISIL excavators and an ISIL shipping container.

-- Near Ramadi, two airstrikes destroyed an ISIL homemade explosive cache, an ISIL heavy machine gun and an ISIL building.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the ISIL terrorist group and the threat they pose to Iraq, Syria, the region, and the wider international community. The destruction of ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the terrorist group's ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said.

Coalition nations conducting airstrikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations conducting airstrikes in Syria include the United States, Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

WHITE HOUSE VIDEO: PRESIDENT OBAMA DELIVERS A MESSAGE TO THE NIGERIAN PEOPLE